BEAVERTON, OR -- (Marketwired) -- Nov 25, 2014 --
Cascade Microtech, Inc. (NASDAQ:
CSCD), a leading supplier of solutions that enable precision measurements of integrated circuits at the wafer level, today announced the successful completion of its second users' conference held October 9-10, 2014 in Rome, Italy. Cascade Microtech's collaboration with customers and partners showcased innovations in on-wafer probe products and solutions. Presentations illustrated how these innovations can deliver efficiencies and increase productivity moving from device characterization and modeling through lab automation and production of semiconductor devices.

John Chen, VP of Technology and Foundry Management at NVIDIA, kicked off COMPASS with an enlightening keynote on 'The New IC -- Innovation and Collaboration -- and its Impact on Test.' After a networking luncheon, Professor Frank Fitzek of Technische Universitat Dresden provided a holistic view of 5G communication systems of the Dresden 5G lab and reviewed use cases and the derived technical challenges. Four separate tracks featured presentations on fine-pitch probing, overcoming challenges of sub-THz probing, advanced probing and high-power on-wafer device characterization. The event closed with an evening networking reception, where guests stayed well into the evening to enjoy talking shop and connecting.

"We are thrilled with the participation and engagement of both customers and sponsors, and their willingness to contribute to the success of COMPASS 2014. This year's theme 'Innovating Test Technologies for Tomorrow' truly reflected the presentations in all sessions, as well as the discussions led by our keynote and featured speakers," explained Michael Burger, President and CEO. "Without the dedication of our customers and sponsors, we would not have been able to achieve our goals of delivering collaboration and educational opportunities for our users. Each and every attendee was able to take away ideas and innovations to help address emerging test and measurement requirements."

The success of this year's conference has driven early planning for COMPASS 2015. The third annual users' conference will be brought back to North America, to be held in September 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Steering Committee made up of customers and Cascade Microtech managers has been formed to select the venue and manage logistics. They will select a Technical Committee from among this year's volunteers, who will announce a call for papers shortly after the first of the year.